The announcement of the cross-platform show on Monday from MediaWorks, owner of TV3 and RadioLive, has triggered a series of individual meetings in the company with affected staff.
Big broadcast names like Hilary Barry and Marcus Lush will be contemplating what is next as their early morning jobs come under scrutiny for the new show -- which sees Firstline, Breakfast with Marcus Lush and Hilary Barry as well as The Paul Henry Show dissolved.
Henry, who will go up against Mike Hosking at ZB and TVNZ Breakfast presenters Rawdon Christie and Ali Pugh, said no staff announcements would be made until the show format had been "fine-tuned".
Henry, who was forced from TVNZ Breakfast in 2010 after mocking the name of a Delhi politician and questioning whether then Governor-General Sir Anand Satyanand was a New Zealander, never expected to return to early-morning presenting.
"I didn't think I'd ever be working in that slot again, let alone in New Zealand."
Meanwhile, social media has been ablaze with comments from the public.
Lush has had a lot of support on Twitter, with fans telling of their upset about losing him to Henry. One fan wrote: "Can't believe that you won't be my commute buddy. Are the bosses crazy? Won't be listening. Off to library for an audiobook."
Another fan was more blunt, saying: "What sort of knuckle draggers would replace Marcus Lush with Paul Henry in anything?"
By Teuila Fuatai and Vaimoana Tapaleao of the New Zealand Herald
